TEHRAN - The 5th and last Iranian fuel tanker reached Venezuelan waters on Sunday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Gholamreza Ansari has said.

In an interview with the IRIB published on Sunday, Ansari also said Iran is studying Venezuela’s request for repairing its oil installations.

He did not give details about the type of installations.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy says Iran is studying Venezuela’s request for repairing the country’s oil installations.The deputy foreign minister said, “The Iranian oil tankers reached Venezuela and delivered our downstream products without facing any incident and there is good cooperation between the two countries.”

“Venezuela is a good market for our downstream products and oil. We can continue cooperation if it [Venezuela] wants,” he noted.

Tehran’s decision to send Iran-flagged tankers to Venezuela amid U.S. sanctions against both countries has infuriated those in the White House.

Iran has warned to retaliate any aggression against its tankers while noting that it has the inherent right to trade with other countries.

Carlos Antonio Alcala Cordones, the Venezuelan ambassador to Iran, told the Tehran Times on Sunday that Iran has demonstrated its “geopolitical power” and its ability to defy the U.S. hegemony by sending fuel tankers to blockaded Venezuela.

“Success in delivery of the fuel shows Iran’s geopolitical power which challenges the United States’ hegemony and shows the capability to create solidarity in international energy market,” the ambassador said.

He said that Iran and Venezuela have challenged the U.S. imperialism to defend their right for foreign trade, adding Tehran and Caracas have established strategic ties.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has hailed the arrival of Iranian tankers to Venezuela amid U.S. threats.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has also said that arrival of Iranian oil tanker in Venezuela breaks the United States’ “unacceptable” and criminal blockade”.

Iranian Ambassador to Venezuela Hojat Soltani has said that the United States’ unilateral sanctions have lost their efficiency.

“The United States’ unilateral sanctions against Venezuela, Iran and a number of other countries have lost efficiency,” IRNA quoted him as saying on Tuesday in an interview with the Al-Alam news network.

He also said that arrival of Iranian oil tankers in the Venezuelan waters was an “international victory”.

NA/PA